Indeed and Talroo CEOs Out, New Jobs Data and States Can’t Regulate AI

Happy Friday, Job Board Doctor friends.

Of course, this week there is no shortage of news—and about the time this newsletter hits your inbox, we’ll have even more—the May jobs report for the U.S. Labor Market will be hitting the wires.

We had big shake-ups in our world over the last two weeks, Chris Hyams is out as CEO of Indeed, Thad Price departs Talroo, and a sneaky little provision in the US Budget bill to limit state governance of AI.

U.S. PAYROLLs and Job Openings

ADP has released its May Employment Report, and the news, like last week’s European Labor Trends data, gives us a mixed bag.

Private payrolls increased just 37,000 in May, below the 60,000 in April and the Dow Jones forecast for 110,000. The lowest monthly job total from the ADP count since March 2023.
Wage growth, on the other hand, remained robust with annual pay growing at a 4.5% rate for those staying in their roles and 7% for job changers—right in line with April’s wage data.

Toby Dayton weighed in with LinkUp data in his monthly Substack and his less than rosy projections, saying, “Most importantly, the U.S. job market has been materially out of balance since December and it’s nearly impossible to think of any factors that would lead one to believe that labor demand is going to rise anytime soon.”

Dayton shared that total job openings in the U.S. fell 4% in May and have declined 5% since the end of Q1—and 11% since November.

This followed (also released this week) a strong JOLTS report for April, which showed job openings at a higher-than-expected 7.4MM vs. the 7.1MM estimate.

🔗 CNBC Reports

🔗 Labor Demand Dropping Again

🔗 April JOLTS

Hyams is out and Idekoba is back at Indeed

A Tuesday morning shocker rippled through the industry with Indeed’s announcement that CEO Chris Hyams is stepping down and will remain in an advisor role until the end of the year. Former Indeed CEO and current Recruit CEO Hisayuki Idekoba will now hold both titles.

The fact that Idekoba is taking on both roles is indicative that this is not a voluntary resignation from Hyams, who wrote on LinkedIn after the announcement to share his take on his journey as the head of the world’s largest job search site.

Despite YoY profitability and strong margins, there have been a series of what this doctor would call missteps by Indeed’s leadership team as the aging company looks to keep its top spot—including over-engineering pricing and misleading policy strategies – with a diminishing jobseeker experience.

Was it time for a change? Let’s meet here next year and discuss.

🔗 Tech Crunch Reports

Thad Price exits Talroo

Another unexpected C-level departure hit the wires last week. Thad Price stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Talroo, and Bruce Ge, Talroo’s Founder and Chairman of the Board, has been appointed CEO, effective immediately. I have no intel here on this one, but wish Thad the best on his next adventure.

🔗 Press Release

Budget Bill: States Can’t Regulate AI

The U.S. Republican House of Representatives passed a budget bill precluding enforcement of state laws governing AI—in any capacity, including employment.

After the U.S. Federal Government has failed to pass ANY legislation related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the last decade (or ever), House Republicans in true sneaky snake style slipped in a decade-long provision that states may no longer enforce existing or create new laws to put guardrails on AI “innovation.”

The language prevents states from creating legal barriers or laws that restrict AI design, performance, civil liability, and documentation.

The legislation defines AI as “any computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence that issues a simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation, to materially influence or replace human decision making.”

A huge gift to tech and a very scary proposition for the average American.

Oh, and for my non-American readers—states’ rights are kind of a thing here, and should this be included in the final legislation, the court fights will be long, expensive, and in many cases, too late.

NPR provided some examples of state laws that would not be enforceable.

This 3-minute chat from NPR is worth a listen.

—or you can read the transcript.

🌈 No Reality Check this Week: Just a Love Bomb.

June is LGBTQ Pride Month and I want to wish my littlest love and light of my life, our son, Tristen – a blessed, joyous Pride. I could not be more proud of the man you have become. I love you, baby!